SHOP HOP! with the Business Guild of Seminole Heights Small Business Saturday, Nov 30th from 10am-5pm Get your card stamped at our location and enter a raffle to win amazing prizes including a Basket of our Hand Blown Ornaments

Our Special of the day: Coupon at the door for 10% off any single item of $100 or more

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Remember the first time you gave your father or mother something you made? It was far from being trim and neat and tidy, but their smiles told you it was perfect. Handmade things are like that. The tablet you are thinking of getting someone is exactly like zillions of others, generic, impersonal, mass-produced by near-slave labor and obsolete in three years.

The money goes to an anonymous corporation with whom the closest contact you will ever have is the logo on the box. It does not have to be like this, and the choice is yours to make: Give something made locally, by hand, be it craft or artwork. It was made by someone here, not slave labor, and all the money (save taxes) stays in your community, where the multiplier effect enhances your expenditure and grows all around you.

Your gift may not do calculations or facebook, but it will always remind the recipient of a special time in your lives, a time all your own -- forever. It may seem at times like those days are gone, but they are still right here, and now. Seize them, think out of the Big Boxes, the mobs and servility to big corporations. Love the Future through the present. Buy it from one of our own, for one of our own.

The Crislip Arcade is at 645 Central Ave, and one of the best places to shop for the Holidays. There are two boutiques on the corners, Cozette's and another whose name escapes me at the moment. Walk through, and there are several galleries owned by artists, each with its own individuated style. Ungala has artworks in a kind of Modernist graphic style, quirky, fun and in a variety of styles and prices.

Bill Drugan, an experienced fine art painter who has traveled widely has fine portraits and figurative works in a highly evolved pallette and style.

Jay Herres has very fine work available of his own, and a few other artists.

eve N odd gallery is one of the standout art spaces in Saint Peterburg. The owner, Jennifer Kosharek has something for everyone and every budget, from cards, knick knacks, etc to her excellent paintings. Here are a few pictures...

eve N Odd gallery most of the work by Catherine Michaels

.

Painting by Jennifer Kosharek..

Works by Jennifer Kosharek.

Painting by Jennifer Kosharek.

The Crislip Arcade and 600 block is a place where instead of walking endlessly in a mob of people for days, one can get a lot of shopping done in a brief amount of time.

Michelle Tuegel's gallery carries lots of fine art pieces in various media and by several artists. There are also great decorative works, the kind that make classy, first-rate gifts...here's a few pictures:

In the Warehouse Arts District, at 515 22nd St South, has no crafts, only fine art by some of the best on the area. Great sculptures by Mark Aeling, paintings by Carrie Jadus, Paul Glass, Femily Killer and others.

Strands of Sunshine, also on 6th St N., is a gem of a jewelry shop run by Amy Marshall, who can be seen making jewelry on the spot. She will be happy to make a bespoke piece, too. Affordable pieces that are ingenious and sure to please any woman.

Saint Paint, run by Derek Donnelly, is more than a gallery. It has been a launching pad for many emerging artists in the St Pete area. Here are some of their offerings for the season....and remember, this weekend is Woo Fest, right on 6th St. North next to Dysfunctional Grace. Lots of contemporary art works by a variety of artists and pricing.

[For those who live outside the US, this is a day when we commemorate Indians saving the lives of the Europeans who would later massacre them. It was supposedly a moment of peace, and in the US it serves as a day to give thanks for what we have. Tomorrow people stampede and literally kill each other to buy more. Ain't that America...]

Dinner.

To
all of you who graced my life this year, too many to mention (and then I
would forget someone and be in trouble!), who loved me, smiled...whose
eyes glittered and made mine do the same, shared the good and the sad...
even those who butted heads with me...thank you. To the artists for
humanizing us. After Love, it is the ultimate superpower. You are my
heroes. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The James Oleson Gallery has been steadily improving the concepts and quality of its shows. Their current show, "John Taormina, Sebastian Coolidge and James Oleson", New Works, continues this trend. It is not

"New Work" is an unusual and unusually creative show/installation for the Bay area. It is well-integrated, the 2D and 3D worka interact seamlessly, whether on canvas, wall, or a pedestal. This show runs until this Saturday, Nov. 30th, and well worth your time. It is one instance where the whole is greater than the sum of it parts,

SHOP HOP! with the Business Guild of Seminole Heights Small Business Saturday, Nov 30th from 10am-5pm Get your card stamped at our location and enter a raffle to win amazing prizes including a Basket of our Hand Blown Ornaments

Our Special of the day: Coupon at the door for 10% off any single item of $100 or more

Join us November 29th at Planet Retro Gallery for our version of Black Friday. We will open at 11am with great sale specials on ALL used vinyl, FREE giveaways, and DJ Rozak.13AM providing the music. We'll have food and drinks for your refreshment throughout the day and LIVE music starting at 7pm from Blast and the Detergents and Shadow Laughter. Don't get trampled at the mall, come down and hang with us!

The biggest shopping day
of the year BLACK FRIDAY
The countdown to the
holidays is on, so don't miss out on the Movember Bazzar deals that will
have you celebrating in style. Bring the barcode number on the Ad and get a Special Gift. NEW ADDRESS: 2655 6th Ave South (Warehouse Arts District).

Come support a gaggle of fantastic small business owners/artist at The Wearhouse on November 30th! We have everything from custom Bikinis to amazing vintage aprons! Come join Lulu Choi, Starrbird Productions, Grace & Morticia, Eugenia woods, and more for a day of art, food, and shopping.________________________________________________________________________

We will be celebrating
the life, love, art and inspiration that this WOOnderful being brought
to our area with Art, Food and music!

We will be finishing the
WOOMORIAL MURAL, have LIVE PAINTING, RAFFLES and an aquatic themed art
show with ORIGINAL Gallery Woo artwork!

Local artists and friends of Woo will be displaying pieces inspired by our beloved friend and mentor.

PARKING AVAILABLE AT 696 1St Ave North (behind state theatre) (FOR EVENT TIMES ONLY 12pm 11/30/13-3am 12/1/13)

6th Street between Central Ave and 1st street north will be closed off for the event.

Great food from The Spot Grill, 18 bands starting at 1pm and run until 9pm in the street.

The celebration continues throughout the night at Octave and FUBAR that will have bands until closing time!

Band Line ups: ***updated*** 11/23 (Stage on 6th street)

The Panhandler Mountain Holler Gators in the Sawgrass Lonlymonster New Cathedral Betterment

On November 30th, 2013,
The Venture Compound in association with the Foundation for the Global
Proliferation of Brown Recluse Spiders, presents for your enjoyment THE
ATTIC 2013. Featuring the comic stylings of Ben Barrett and the
heartwarming acoustic ballads of Shanna Martin, THE ATTIC 2013 is sure
to captivate and amaze even the youngest members of your family! Bring
all your friends and get ready for the ride of your life! But watch
out, the dastardly NEQUAM SONITUS is always plotting some new scheme to
ruin tea time for everyone! Can you help VULTURE and the BIRDS OF PRAY
stop him before he uses the dark energy of the NETHERVOID to put all the
children of VENTUREVILLE in CONCENTRATION CAMPS?? _________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 22, 2013

Last night was a game-changer for Tampa Bay art galleries. Master Printer Erika Greenberg Schneider and her husband, sculptor Dominique Laubavie took a bold step forward. The press release hinted at this:

"This exhibition by Gregg Perkins marks a new paradigm for Bleu Acier.
We will be marking our territory with a different approach to how we
dialogue with our community. Bleu Acier will exhibit mid career and
established artists with whom we work in print. The prints will be shown
within the oeuvre of the artist. Lectures and readings will be
organized in order to place and connect the work to a context, which is
both contemporary and active."

Erika wasn't kidding. It was the gallery's tenth Anniversary, and packed with a who's who of the Arts community in the area. The crowd chatted and milled around, the variety of media and subjects drawing their attention, invigorating them. Otherwise it was an art opening like any other in the Bay Area, but that was about to change.

Erika introduced the show in a fairly conventional fashion at first, then shifted gears, culminating with a reading of Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince", the part where he meets the Little Prince and draws sheep for him. In the context of the art show, this was quite a parable. This was followed by a presentation by Architect and Urban Designer Petra Kampf, an extraordinary exploration into the nature and history of the way we perceive physical (and other types of) space.

These talks demanded the audience pay attention and engage as listeners just to follow the threads of thought. No concessions, no dumbing-down, only lean, hardcore ideas that form a conceptual holographic frame for gallery goers. You should not have missed it, but if you did, there will be two more talks while this show is up:

"Lost in the Wilderness", Coralette Damme one night show at Studio 620.

The Studio@620 presents
"Lost in the Wilderness", an exhibit of recent artworks by local artist
and printmaker Coralette Damme. You may know Coralette as The Crafty
Hag, she has been creating functional hand printed gift-ware and cards
for several years. But you may not have seen her larger artworks. This
exhibit will feature images created in a variety of media with emphasis
on linocut and silkscreen printing techniques. Subject matter is
derived from a variety of sources as the artist seeks the answers to questions we all have: Where do I belong? Why is my purpose here? What do I value? Where am I going next?

According to the artist, "It is human nature to search for answers and
to assign meaning to our experiences. At certain points in life you
enter a crossroads and wonder what is the correct path forward. This
show is about finding hidden messages, seeking direction, interpreting
personal symbols, accepting cosmic instruction, and the search of self."

We hope you'll find your way to The Studio@620 for the opening
reception on Friday Nov 22 from 6-9 PM. Admission is free and open to
the public. Artwork will remain on display through December 10, 2013.
Additional gallery hours will be posted at a later date and are also
available by appointment. Please call 727-895-6620 for additional
information.

The Studio@620 is a non profit arts venue located at 620 1st Ave. South, St. Petersburg FL 33701

Visit The Studio@620 online at www.studio620.org.___________________________________________________________

St Pete Shuffle Art Sale.

This
Friday, it's the last night to enjoy and purchase artwork from our
shuffleboard art show. Also, a way to give back this Thanksgiving -
bring an item from the Metropolitan Ministries Most Needed List (the
list is here: http://www.metromin.org/page.aspx?pid=537) and be entered into a raffle for some shuffle swag.___________________________________________________________

Bleu Acier is pleased to present First There is a Mountain, an
exhibition of recent paintings, prints, and videos by University of
Tampa professor Gregg Perkins. The starting point for this exhibition is
a photograph of Mont Blanc by the Swiss aerial explorer Walter
Mittelholzer. Perkins has played upon and created multiple narratives
inspired by Mittelholzer's journeys and his desire to map the world
through exploration.

Opening: Thursday November 21st 6:30 -9 PM
in presence of the artist

Thursday November 21st:
Gallery talk @ 7:00pm
by Petra Kempf, a New York based Architect
and Urban Designer.

This exhibition marks a new paradigm for Bleu Acier.
We will be marking our territory with a different approach to how we
dialogue with our community. Bleu Acier will exhibit mid career and
established artists with whom we work in print. The prints will be shown
within the oeuvre of the artist. Lectures and readings will be
organized in order to place and connect the work to a context, which is
both contemporary and active. For more information or images please
contact Erika Schneider: 813.215.0622 or erika@bleuacier.com

Photography by Wendy Babcox and Selina Roman November 18 – December 12, 2013

TAMPA, FL - Hillsborough Community College’s Gallery 221 on the Dale Mabry campus opensundercover, photography by Wendy Babcox and Selina Romanon November 18, with an Artist Reception scheduled for Thursday, November 21 from 5 to 7 pm, including an informal Artist Talk around 6 pm. The exhibit will be available through December 12, 2013.

Undercover is an exploration of the colorful, and often times, paradoxical images that appear in plain sight. The
bodies of work chosen for this exhibit have a playful tension between
them. Where Babcox documents buildings dressed in colored, striped
tents for fumigation, and rolling green golf courses with scattered sand
traps; Roman dresses figures in colored tights and vintage costumes,
and places them in natural landscapes.

The
selected pieces of Roman’s work comes from a series titled, “Confidence
Tastes Like a Low-Slung Cloud,” part of her thesis work completed for
her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of South Florida.
Roman explains that the series “ponders the slow and quiet decay that
denial and ignorance cultivates. Among the glittery costumes and
saturated colors, something always seems to be ignored or overlooked.
It is a playful ignorance that if left unchecked could get out of hand
and turn ugly.”

Both bodies of Babcox’s work featured in undercover focus
on landscapes that have been controlled in order to make them appear
more pleasing to the viewer; much like a mask is used to conceal what
we’d rather not reveal. The colorful, circus-like tents used to
eradicate destructive pests provide a contradiction to our acuities;
they are at the same time cheerful and deadly. Images of golf courses
captured in a somewhat abstracted style, convey voluptuous curves and
rich textures that are aesthetically pleasing. However, these organic
shapes conceal what lies beneath if left uncontrolled.

Babcox
received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado and
her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida. She primarily
works in photography and video and currently teaches at the University
of South Florida.

For additional information on the artists, visit their respective websites:

Photography by Wendy Babcox and Selina Roman November 18 – December 12, 2013

TAMPA, FL - Hillsborough Community College’s Gallery 221 on the Dale Mabry campus opensundercover, photography by Wendy Babcox and Selina Romanon November 18, with an Artist Reception scheduled for Thursday, November 21 from 5 to 7 pm, including an informal Artist Talk around 6 pm. The exhibit will be available through December 12, 2013.

Undercover is an exploration of the colorful, and often times, paradoxical images that appear in plain sight. The
bodies of work chosen for this exhibit have a playful tension between
them. Where Babcox documents buildings dressed in colored, striped
tents for fumigation, and rolling green golf courses with scattered sand
traps; Roman dresses figures in colored tights and vintage costumes,
and places them in natural landscapes.

The
selected pieces of Roman’s work comes from a series titled, “Confidence
Tastes Like a Low-Slung Cloud,” part of her thesis work completed for
her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of South Florida.
Roman explains that the series “ponders the slow and quiet decay that
denial and ignorance cultivates. Among the glittery costumes and
saturated colors, something always seems to be ignored or overlooked.
It is a playful ignorance that if left unchecked could get out of hand
and turn ugly.”

Both bodies of Babcox’s work featured in undercover focus
on landscapes that have been controlled in order to make them appear
more pleasing to the viewer; much like a mask is used to conceal what
we’d rather not reveal. The colorful, circus-like tents used to
eradicate destructive pests provide a contradiction to our acuities;
they are at the same time cheerful and deadly. Images of golf courses
captured in a somewhat abstracted style, convey voluptuous curves and
rich textures that are aesthetically pleasing. However, these organic
shapes conceal what lies beneath if left uncontrolled.

Babcox
received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado and
her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida. She primarily
works in photography and video and currently teaches at the University
of South Florida.

For additional information on the artists, visit their respective websites:

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

I wrote about Amazon expanding its operations into the art market here [Link] back in September 2013. One local gallerist is entering the Amazon network already, and I look forward to seeing how it works for her.

RHCA Gallery

This time it is Restoration Hardware entering the fray in a very
different way. Restoration Hardware Contemporary Art has opened a
six-story, 28,000 sq. ft. cathedr...er...retail art monument in Chelsea.
They will be largely showing commissioned work, meaning they are paying the artists up front. They are currently having five solo shows simultaneously.

The RH CEO, Gary Friedman has plans... “By chasing our hopes and dreams, we inspire others to chase theirs.
By being creatively courageous and fearlessly fighting for what we
believe in, we inspire others to do the same.” I continued, “By being
open and giving of our light, we lift the spirits of others, who then
reflect that light to another, and another. It’s a reflection that can
be endless, and continue long after we leave this planet, and by doing
so, then maybe we never left.” I ended, “It’s about a lot more than just
selling furniture.”

RH explains that they are creating an 'environment'. The works go up to about $30k USD presently. This is putting into practice the trend towards experience, not simply object acquisition. RHCA (and RH in general) is aiming at the Nouveau Age d' Or riche, one of the mainstays of the gallery scene. There are many fascinating questions about how well these new models for art sales will work, and how the current models will weather this onslaught, if they do at all.

How long before major corporate players move in to buy/unseat the major art fairs? Auction houses? Will corporations go into the lower-priced levels of this market? Will we see big box Wal-Arts? It is still much too soon to take the human measure of this.

The artscape is rapidly shifting, and while it doesn't look good for the galleries at the moment, it does for the artists and who knows? Gallerists are savvy enough to evolve rapidly.

From one POV it seems like an oil and water miscegenation, from another, seeing new models, all this interest in art, and its emphasis as a signifier of wealth and taste could bring in a lot of potential buyers.